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Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Measurement Games for the Whole Year

Number is the priority standard in kindergarten! We spend all year developing number sense as we build upon standards. But, some of the other standard strands, we hit and move on! We probably all do a concentrated unit for measurement, another for shapes, etc. These units usually last about a month, and then, we move on!
Fast forward to next year....our kids go to first grade and this is what we hear the first grade teachers saying, "Kindergarten teachers need to do a better job teaching the measurement vocabulary. These children don't know how to compare length or height, and you can forget capacity!" Suddenly we become defensive! We know we taught those standards! We know our kids mastered the measurement standards during our unit in January. So what happened? It may be that we forgot to MAINAIN the learning. We forgot to keep the standard spiraling back around in our centers.
This blog post shares some of my favorite centers for maintaining the measurement standards. (While these are centers, they are introduced in small group several times before they become centers.)

How Long Is Your Name?

How Long Is Your Name? is a great game to play all year just by rotating your vocabulary words. Here's how to get ready:

Select words related to a theme or time of year.

Put the letters to spell the word and a clip art image in a table.

Laminate and cut apart.

Here's how to play:

Invite the children to collect unifix cubes to match the number of letters in their name. For example, if their name is Andy, they would get 4 cubes. It is helpful if all of these cubes are the same color for every child. This makes it easier for you to check.

Select a vocabulary card.

Using another color of cubes, place one cube on each letter in the word.

Snap the cubes of the letters together.

Compare the length to the length of your name.

Record the results on the recording page.

Measure Me!

Here is another fun game that can easily be played all year just by changing the clip art! Here's how to get ready:

Lay the clip art pictures in a row beside the child to determine how many it will take to measure how tall.

Repeat with a partner.

On the recording page, the children draw a picture of themselves and of their partner to show how tall each person was.

**Make the clip art images different sizes throughout the year. This way it won't be the same number of pictures each time!

Which is Taller?

Here is another game for keeping measurement spiraling in your centers. Here's how to get ready:

Create a game board with something "tall". Make a space on either side of the "tall" object.

Make a spinner for taller or shorter.

Collect 10 cubes for each child, each having their own color.

Here's how to play:

Each child holds their cubes in their hands.

Say, "1,2,3 break."

Each child breaks their cubes.

They lay one part on the table, and one part on the game board.

Compare for taller and shorter.

Whichever child's rocket was "shorter", spins the spinner.

If the spinner lands on shorter, than the child with the shorter rocket gets all of the cubes on the game board.

If it lands on taller, the child with the taller rocket gets all of the cubes on the game board.

Keep playing until time is up. Each child lays all of their cubes on the taller/shorter game board.

The one with the shorter rocket, spins the spinner.

If it lands on shorter, they win the game. If it lands on taller, the player with the taller rocket wins the game.

Which is Longer?

The same game can be played to compare length! Both of these games can easily be played over and over just by changing the clip art! The children think they are playing a new game, but no new rules to learn!

Here are some more Math Games that are great for your centers. These themed units contain games for measurement, but for number standards too! None of the game themes are repeated in the measurement game bundle.

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Kim is a retired kindergarten teacher! She taught kindergarten for 30 years and now works as a national presenter. Now that she is retired, she spends her time volunteering in Megan's room. When she isn't working at Megan's school, she loves to garden and spend time with her family. She and Andy, her husband, have two children, Megan, who is married to Nick, and Tyler, who is married to Ginny. They also have a beagle named KT Ann. Megan followed in her mom's footsteps and is also a kindergarten teacher. She loves building relationships with her kiddos and their families. When she isn't teaching, she enjoys spending time with her family. She is married to Nick. They enjoy all the GA sports teams! She and Nick have a miniature dachshund named Lily Grace.

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